First time at Capital days rocked!

Hello Pennsylvania 4-H!

Another month has passed. This time with one of the "big three" (Nate and I's nickname for the three big state events that the Council helps with), Capital Days! I have never been to Capital days before and I have to tell you, I didn't know if I would like it. When I heard that it was related to parliamentary procedure and politics, I was a little skeptical as to whether I would like it or not. But I am happy to report that it surpassed all of my expectations and was better than I could have imagined!

The Council arrived early on Friday morning so that we could prepare and rehearse for the weekend ahead. 

After a long day of planning and preparing, we dressed up for a night on the town! We went to The Firehouse, a restaurant a few minutes from our hotel. It had some pretty awesome food and it was a lot of fun to go there! 

The next day brought a little more preparing before the 85 delegates (around double the number of delegates from last year) showed up. When they arrived we started with some superhero icebreakers! Then we assembled the Council! (As pictured below.) 

After dinner the Council taught a workshop on parliamentary procedure (the methods and procedures to follow within a meeting). Then we split into two different groups, the Avengers and the Justice League, for our mock party discussion sessions. I was the chair for the Avengers session and it was really fun getting to lead and to apply my knowledge of parliamentary procedure. 

The next day (Sunday) there were workshops and a Capitol building tour. We also had a formal etiquette lunch. In the evening we had a debate and discussion involving both groups together. It was pretty intense and was so much fun! We finished out the evening with a neon dance!

Today (Monday) we had a legislative brunch! There were over 50 legislators that came and had brunch with delegates from their district of the state. After the brunch concluded, the Council went to the Capitol building to have meetings with many legislators. It was pretty awesome getting to meet all of them. We were even shown the House Floor, which is where the state House of Representatives meets to conduct business. 

So overal, this weekend was a really great experience for me where I met new people, learned about citizenship and government, and had a whole lot of fun in the process!

Until next month, 

Jesse Isenberg 

2013/2014 Pennsylvania State 4-H Council
Vice President of Operations